VOICES: Inhumanity and the Moral Limit in Syria

At the start of the “Arab Spring,” I was so optimistic about the prospect of democracy in the Middle East and heartened by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. On my mind was the oppression of millions of Syrians by the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime. Also on my mind was my experience during Lebanon’s civil war and the enormous damage the Syrian regime did there.

For 10 years of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, my siblings and I outran bombs to reach home from school, took tests while watching sniper bullets bounce off of the building next door, heard and felt that terrifyingly loud sound of exploding bombs, spent long days and nights in rat-infested shelters and, of course, dealt with the poverty and degradation of being refugees – not to mention the repeated damage to our family’s home and grocery store, navigating off-limits streets and intersections targeted by snipers and so much more. These horrors probably make anyone who’s had a normal childhood cringe.

But here’s the bad news: What the Assad regime has done to its own people since March 2011 is far more brutal, destructive and degrading than the enormous damage it did in Lebanon. I never imagined this was possible, but it turns out there’s no limit to the regime’s inhumanity.

Syria’s numbers today are astounding: 130,000 dead (including thousands of children), more than 575,000 injured, nearly three million refugees outside Syria, nearly five million refugees displaced inside Syria; 43,000 Syrians detained and thousands suffering from starvation and lack of shelter. Then there are the latest revelations of Holocaust-like torture of thousands.

I suspect these numbers are conservative and don’t account for the destruction of entire villages and cities, and the fear, pain and hopelessness millions of Syrians are enduring every day.

“Where is our outrage? Where is our humanity? Where is the world’s conscience?” – Laura Boustani

When the uprising began, I naively thought that once the world community sees the real Assad regime, something would happen to remove it from power and Syrians would finally have a dignified life. I thought what kept Western countries from looking into the atrocities committed by the regime for the past four decades was the nearly perfected, sophisticated, lying facade of the Assad family and their apologists. Once the truth was revealed, I was sure things would change.

Residents hold the hand of a girl who was pulled from under debris after what activists said were barrel bombs dropped by Syrian government forces on Aleppo Feb. 2, 2014. (Reuters)

Fast-forward to January 2014. Thanks to traditional and social media, the world is aware of the massacres and we continue to see horrifying images of mutilated bodies, rows of dead children and so much more. My hat is off to saintly aid workers and journalists, but the rest of us do nothing to stop the madness. Where is our outrage? Where is our humanity? Where is the world’s conscience? Have we become numb to the images of the suffering, torture and mutilation?

Forget the fiasco about red lines and chemical weapons. And, forget the peace talks in Geneva, which are unlikely to be productive as long as Assad is in power. The fact of the matter now is clear as day: The world knows Assad’s brutality well and does not care.

I don’t claim to have the answers to the difficult and complicated geopolitical considerations, but I know two things must happen: The bloodshed must be stopped and the criminal regime must be removed and punished.

Damaged buildings are seen in a bombed area of Homs Jan. 27, 2014. (Reuters)

I understand the plight of the Christian minority inside Syria. And, yes, Iran, Russia, Israel and the American public make military action difficult. But when does it all stop? Teams of experts reviewing the recently released torture archives have made a direct comparison to the Holocaust. Are we waiting until the number of dead Syrians reaches six million? Has the world learned nothing from the Holocaust? Shame on every world leader and on every one of us for not doing more, for not caring more, and for not demanding the end to this holocaust.

In the words of the late journalist and author Christopher Hitchens (who was writing in 2010 about Henry Kissinger’s reference to gas chambers on the Nixon tapes), “There has to be a moral limit, and either this has to be it or we must cease pretending to ourselves that we observe one.”

So, does my beloved country have a moral limit when it comes to Syria? Does the world?

This post was originally published on Cleveland.com. It is reprinted with permission.

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18 Comments

??? – Just leave a Terrorist in place after he GASSED TO DEATH 426 kids, 1000 adulus and poisoned some hero doctors, I say Hell No!
This Terrorist Leader refuses to destroy CW production facilities, hanging onto the last 85 tons for now.
A Superpower refuses to stand up to Putin's warmongering and U.N. vetoes and form a Coalition similar to the NATO response to the massacres in Serbia.
What replaces Assad is like asking what will replace the Nazis – who will run Germany without Adolph Hitler, who admittedly had the resources to ship millions to their deaths during a World War.

Last year instead of barrel bombs, ole Bashar was launching huge SCUD ballastic missiles, not at Israel, but into his own cities!
These famously poorly guided missiles were weapons of TERROR – what they would hit was uncertain.

Add to the current estimate of 160,000 killed the many thousands rounded up and never seen again, victims of Assad's 'Industrial Killing" in 'Security Centers' with those recently killed carefully photographed, documented, then dumped in mass graves.
Some obviously starved to death in prison, a terrible sight.

Starving prisoners facing torture and death by the thousands……What does that remind you of?

Laura, I emphatize with your suffering, and the one of those who were forced to abandon their country, I really feel for them, because they did not have another option, but just see what is happening in all the world, thousands of people trying to escape their dire situation in Africa, and very many end up drowning in the Mediterranean, thousands of Central Americans trying to flee from poverty and insecurity and end up murdered by gangs in Mexico. The situation in the world is very dire, all over. We don't know what to do. The wealth of our world is badly distributed, more and more, a very few stash away fortunes, slaving defenseless people all over, paying them absurd salaries not only in the third world countries, that is the cause that impels them to flee, in the first place, they want to improve their lot, sometimes at the risk of their lives. It is so sad. I have read of Filipino people living in containers stacked three high in Holland who totally lack of sanitary services . In the U.S. too, people who are living there illegally are forced to work under appalling conditions, and I don't mean this to be an excuse for Obama to deport more. I am against deportations from everywhere. Once you are in a place, you should be permited to stay there, I think immigration laws are very absurd, Why the Italian government gave honorary citinzenship to all those Africans drowned off Lampedusa and gave them a State funeral, but it is going to indict the ones alive, and charge them with exorbitant fines, if it were not so serious I will laugh. It is so absurd. Whatever happened with our compassion. The richer you are, the merciless you become. There is no more mercy. Like Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice wrote, "mercy is like the gentle dew that falls from sky, it blesses to those who give it, and consoles to those who receive it". Once I read I don't know where, that if people in the West don't read The Bible and to Shakespeare, they are considered ignorant. Well according to that dictum exists a lot of ignorance in our world. See the appalling situation of the Palestinians with their neighbors building a 20 meters high Wall to maintain them appart. Is it that mercy? And the U.S. building a high fence along the border with Mexico, instead of using those billions of dollars to charitable purposes. And if we continue, we will never end. I hope you are O.K. Laura.

This is part of the Zionist Saudi Zionist Mercenary family propaganda. The thugs,bruits and human body part eating mercenaries were injected into Syria by the Zionist regime and puppets of the Zionists regime i.e. Sultan of Turkey, Bastard family of Saudi and King of Qatar with the help of colonial powers of USA, Britain and France. They made ISIS,Al Nusra and hundreds other such bands who are responsible for the carnage of Syria. US and its allied countries of West – the so called regimes with conscious are Indirectly as well as directly responsible for the massacres of Christians and non Takfiri Muslims of Syria because this all was orchestrated by them. A criminal case should be registered against the head of states of USA, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Yes, what is the point of fingering Israel as a heavy in this issue? It is both irrelevant and incorrect. The Syrian issue, as well as the failure to create democracies in any of the nations that were a part of the Arab Spring, are issues of the Arab peoples alone. If they won’t create a democracy for themselves, how is anybody else supposed to accomplish such? That argument makes no sense what so ever. As long as Sharia Law keeps rearing its ugly head, no Arab country will ever know freedom. At least not for long.

As far as anybody expecting the Obama Administration to help, are you daft? Obama has not only ruled by decree thus far, he openly stated his intention to do so in his State of the Union Address. That’s not an American style president, it’s a dictator. How can you expect such an individual to promote freedom anywhere?

Laura: the Holocaust is it’s own situation and shame on your for comparing the genocide of the jews in that period with the modern civil war. The Nazi state of Germany did awful things that no other government in the modern era would even consider. I cant believe you would degrade the Holocaust and compare it to a war confined to one sovereign state. Although 100,000 people are a lot that doesnt compare to what happened to the -people that lived through the Holocaust. My grandparents lived through the Holocaust. I know your trying to create support to intervene but come on down sink as low to degrade the Holocaust in your writings to accomplish this.

A genocide is a genocide. To claim one however large or small seeks to raise one above the other is obscene. For it claims a genocide against a certain culture has much more meaning.

What is happening in Syria is a genocide in both directions for exactly the same reason as in Germany cultural foundation codex (textual and exemplar) construct of Other, in Syria the Islamic construct in Germany and elsewhere (as it knows no borders) the Nazi.

The fact is as with the Nazi construct the Islamic construct recognizes no borders, have you not noticed even the blood spattered walls in even Western capitals?

Yes your Grandparents died so did many Grandparents in Rwanda your Grandparents deaths means more or less to their grandchildren. This attitude of yours I believe seeks to diminish the notions of other peoples genocide to the greater detriment of actually dealing with cause cultural foundation codex itself by focusing on the outcome not cause.

"I don’t claim to have the answers to the difficult and complicated geopolitical considerations, but I know two things must happen: The bloodshed must be stopped and the criminal regime must be removed and punished."

"criminal regime" replaced with what?

As you saw in the streets of the so called Arab Spring and as I said at the time those shouting 'Freedom' on the streets had no common definition of its meaning. There are quite a few in the Syrian opposition side not even pretending to shout 'Freedom'.

It quickly came apparent as in Iran, Democracy can be a means to an end not the end in itself. Democracy as a avenue to power can inform Tyranny as well as Liberty.

I have the answer to the "difficult and complicated geopolitical considerations" – Change the Architect and Builder or Nothing Changes

Cultural foundation codex ethical constructs of Other are driving the terror and major schism from both directions as they have in this case from the seventh century.

"I don’t claim to have the answers to the difficult and complicated geopolitical considerations, but I know two things must happen: The bloodshed must be stopped and the criminal regime must be removed and punished."

"criminal regime" replaced with what?

As you saw in the streets of the so called Arab Spring and as I said at the time those shouting 'Freedom' on the streets had no common definition of its meaning. The are quite as few in the opposition side not even shouting 'Freedom'.

It quickly came apparent as in Iran Democracy can be a means to an end not the end in itself. Democracy as a avenue to power can inform Tyranny as well as liberty.

I have the answer to the "difficult and complicated geopolitical considerations" – Change the Architect and Builder or Nothing Changes

Cultural foundation codex ethical constructs of Other are driving the terror and major schism from both directions as they have in this case from the seventh century.

What is missing from this article is the silence of the other Arab nations
Why is it always the West that needs to respond to problems in the Arab world
The Arab countries could not care less about their fellow brothers in Syria
Charity begins at home….but unfortunately it does

The Syrian people will be better off with the opposition in power ???? ISIS and Al Nusra are better taskmasters that Assad ??? Sharia and islamic theocracy are better than Assad's secular approach???. Try telling that to Syrias Jews and Christians as well as the vast majority of it's muslim population.

Laura- you got your facts wrong, when you insinuate that somehow Israel is preventing the international community from doing anything; on the contrary it is in the interest of Israel to see Hezbollah, Assad, and its patron Iran out of the area. Israel has provided extensive indirect and direct aid to the suffering civilians, which you do not mention…I wonder why? I guess your inuendo of bringing Israel into your discussion, is supposed to do what? Raise antisemitic feelings, or anti-Israel feelings? please explain.? I realize that in the islamist narrative, Israel only gets bad coverage.
I assume your are blind to the facts- I will make you aware that Pres S. Peres, Israel, has repeatedly pleaded for the international community and the UN, and the UNSC to put aside their differences, and put a stop to the war; he has pleaded for the international community to help the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of the dastardly extremists on both sides of the conflict. Israeli hospitals have treated dozens and dozens of seriously injured Syrians, etc. I question the sincerity of the rest of your views, given the association of Israel into the mix.
You ask as to why the international community …? it is very simple, after decades of trying to resolve connflicts, and even trying to create democratic states during the last 50 years, the West has ended up empty handed, with no good outcomes; the last two – Afghanistan, and Iraq look really bad. Notwithstanding the massive loss of Western soldiers and civilians trying to help, and a 3+ trillion $ of material resources/aid no good comes out of it; one example issue- no matter how the West tried to get women emancipated from the dastardly traditions of viewing women as property, the West has failed. The emancipation of women is critical to the future of all tribal societies, but the tribals are unwiling to change, corrupition continues, abuses continue.. . Syria is even a worse quagmire, when you have anti-Assad militants causing tremendous deaths and damage to each other, more than to the dictator they want to depose, one can only throw up. The last thing, in the West, any one wants to do is to pour more fuel on the fire. The grivious lawless conduct of the opposition fighters against their own civilians has completely disenchanted any one with them; it is one of the most deadly civil wars, observed in the last 100 years; it is even almost as bad as the Spanish civil war that went on for 5 years, over 250,000 people died, some claim that as many as 700,000 people died in the Spanish civil war. Civil wars can’t be stopped, until both sides agree to compromise and do so; fanatics unfortunately are not good at compromises. At least in the Spanish civil war the two groups did not turn on each others’ internal sub groups, like we see in Syria.
The US tried for well over a year to get humanitarian corridors into Syria, even now that they under way, they are being detained..
So I think your insinuations that somehow Israel, or the US are preventing peace, are absolutely wrong; just look at Iraq, and the US involvement in the removal of the dastardly dictator, Iraq is still on fire and getting worse. BOTOM LINE – CIVIL WARS are the worst and most inhumane of conflicts, and only the conflicting parties can bring them to an end.

I am appalled by the inaction of President Obama who block the outrage of the American people in the name of inaction, negotiations and threats, while keeping his prestigious Nobel Peace Prize to his heart. Lebanon and Syria are not isolated cases. Georgia and Ukraine does not raise the conscience of Obama. While dictators trample on democracy in Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, North Korea, Iran, Central African Republic, Eritrea, South Sudan and other countries, Obama administer the palliative treatment of offering US dollars to the suffering people without taking any action to remove the cause of their suffering. No country in the world can trust the sincerity of President Obama in international affairs. When will President Obama and the US will wake up before another World War created by the inaction to nip the bud of aggression and dictatorships. I fully support the view of Laura Boustani who epitomizes the suffering of people under brutal dictatorships, ignored by US President Obama. The US paper tiger is not a match for the Russian and Chinese threats.

And what about N.Korea, CAR, Eritrea…and so many other places in the world, right now, that are being ravaged by man's inhumanity against man?

My heart and my mind both were seared by your letter, but I do not know if there are any answers for the innocent Syrians being savaged both by Assad's forces and Islamist forces any more than there are answers for the world's millions of vulnerable people living in conflict zones, terrorized by religious, ethnic and politically inspired violence.

Even in places where there is relative peace, desperate poverty and tyranny maims and kills millions.

A broad look at history makes it obvious that warfare and genocide are "normal" human behaviors. So are extreme religion, tribalism, nationalism, racism, gender-based oppression, ignorance and tyranny.

I have come to realize that ideals like justice, and rule of law, universal human rights, democracy and representative government, abolition of slavery, gender and racial equality, freedom of religion, tolerance, support for the poorest and most vulnerable do NOT come "naturally" to the human race. Anthropologists have fairly recently revealed that the few, remote societies of people living today as our most remote hunter-gatherer ancestors did in S.America and New Guinea were NEVER the "peaceful, noble savages living at peace with each other and with nature". Their rates of murder and inter-tribal raids are as high as gangland L.A.

What we in the West and a few other places in the world are trying to achieve, our highest values are NOT easy. That's why we constantly have to work hard to maintain and improve what gains we have made in achieving those highest values.

None of the above saves one innocent Syrian child. I offer only bitter perspective.

I'd compare any putative intervention by the US, NATO, on behalf of the Syrians to the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yes, those bombs saved the lives of hundreds of thousands who would have died if the conflict would have continued. However, those innocents who were maimed and vaporized by those bombs paid a hellish price.

WHAT would the price paid by the entire region if the US or a coalition of superpowers launched a military campaign to rescue Syria and her people? Nobody really knows. The consequences of touching off a war in the most volatile region in the world could be beyond catastrophic to far more people than what seems like the heartless refusal to do nothing but keep out of the conflict and do what is possible to keep the conflict from spreading.

Yes, the Iraq catastrophe and the financial costs of that catastrophe certainly makes Americans and the rest of the world extremely reluctant to be pulled into ANY conflict that does not directly threaten us, but that isn't the primary cause of international refusal to intervene in Syria. The primary reason isn't oil or blood either. It's the very real fear of a military intervention in Syria morphing into WWIII.

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